Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

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The Inevitable

Mark Prior is going under the knife for exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his pitching shoulder tomorrow in Birmingham. The procedure will be done by Dr. James Andrews and IF he finds any damage, he's expected to repair it on the spot. Hopefully our resident doctor will be along to let us know what Prior can expect tomorrow.

Comments

ouch.

Maybe Wood and Miller could go too, and we could get a group discount. Maybe Ohman and Dumpster want to join in.

yeah Levine said they are concentrating on the labrum area and at the very least will get a "clean up" of the labrum.

Soon we will know if the damage is in his shoulder or between his ears.

"at the very least will get a “clean up” of the labrum." That's about the most inconsistent thing I've ever read about Prior's condition. When was Prior diagnosed with labrum damage?

I don't think there really is a diagnosis, hence the exploratory nature of the surgery. Sometimes they just have to open you up to find out what's wrong.

how is it "inconsistent" when nothing structural has ever been officially diagnosed?

i always thought going under the knife and arthroscopic surgery were mutually exclusive? no matter. all i can say is "about friggin time". and ditto to #4.

Rob G.:
Mark Prior... under the knife... arthroscopic... IF he finds any damage... repair it on the spot...
{Yawn}

True Q, but there's a big difference between fraying and a tear although both can be pitched through. Radke had a severe tear in his labrum and pitched through it and lost very little velocity but his command fell off quite a bit. That could explain Prior's lack of command but not so sure it necessarily explains the drastic drop of velocity.

Meh.

Can I call Prior injury prone yet, or is John Hill going to come back from the dead and write a 3,000 word essay blasting me??? :) I wonder how Miller took the fake injury DL news? So much for his "hand shake agreement" with Hendry. I hope we have seen the last of Miller in a Cubs uniform, but Hendry has shown in the past he doesn't like to admit his mistakes.

Rotoworld says Guzman will be called up to start against the Pirates on May 1. Don't see a source link.

Diagnostic arthroscopic surgery just means looking at the anatomy and identifying any abnormalities. That's the diagnostic portion of the case. It still means using a scalpel to make portals to insert the scope as will as any basic arthroscopic tools such as shavers and probes. The intraarticular shoulder joint anatomy (from the arthroscopic point of view) lets one identify the following structures from inside the joint: humeral head (ball of the shoulder with articular cartilage) glenoid (socket with articular cartilage and lined by labrum) biceps tendon rotator cuff (supraspinatus tendon) glenoid labrum joint capsule glenohumeral ligaments subscapularis tendon (front muscle of the rotator cuff) subscapularis recess inferior/posterior recesses synovium (joint lining tissue) then the bursal side of the joint, actually outside the shoulder joint is examined including: rotator cuff (bursal side) acromion (bone overhanging the cuff that the deltoid muscle attaches to as well as the AC joint) acromionclavicular joint coracoclavicular ligament They should find something abnormal in that above checklist. It sure would be nice to have a diagnosis (I've said that time and time again). There are alot of things they can fix but you can't fix normal anatomy. I'll comment more when we hear what they say about the surgical findings.

Meh...get back to me when Prior gets re-called to the big club and actually makes an appearance. Ditto Wood. Until then, don't want to hear a single thing about them. I'd much rather worry about players who actually WILL make an impact on how this club performs in 2007.

Cubster......so when do the docs actually rip holes in Prior's labia...errrrr.....cl*tor.....aaahheeemm. Ahhhh never mind..Prior is done. Joey

Well, Mark, thanks for the memories. Good luck to you in the future in your life outside of baseball, which began over this past off season.

I am just glad that Prior waited until the season to get this surgery. He was awfully busy last year to fit this into his schedule.

If I'm not mistaken Pedro Martinez also pitched through a labrum tear injury (possibly for years), but finally got his surgery done this last off-season.

I predict: Prior 18-6 in 2009, with the Dodgers Cubs acquire Schmidt for the 2009 season from the Dodgers for 3/44

After Prior's exploratory surgery today he will likely regain some freakish tendon strength a la Rookie of the Year and become the best pitcher in baseball (in about a week or two). This is probably what will happen based on empirical evidence and his track record.

There's something incredibly cruel in our tendency to punish those who raised our expectations and fell more than we punish those who never raised our expectations at all. Watching Prior pitch before he took the liner off his elbow will remain a fond memory of mine as a vision of athleticism and the craft practiced at it's highest level. Maybe Prior became a head case. Maybe Prior was juiced and the juice caught up with him. Maybe Prior -- like his team -- fell victim to a remarkable string of bad luck. Don't vilify the guy for being great and falling from that height. For a couple years there, he, like Kerry Wood, was a reason to dream. It's not his fault we dreamed. I wish him the best of luck and hope his name might, like Tommy John's, become synonymous with a successful surgical procedure that rehabilitates once hopeless injuries and foreshortened pitching careers.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.